In the free time of this week, I have mainly read the online article journal: Becoming the Animal: Political Discourse in Animation through Anthropomorphic Characters, and made some notes for my thesis proposal with my own review:
P6: anthropomorphic animal is a tool used by animators to define a character effectively (Jardim, 2013)
P9: Pakistani animated movie in which political issues are discussed through anthropomorphic characterisation
P12-13: animated films have used animal representation to allude to particular issues relating to politics and society by means of ‘political carnivalesque’ which depicts how animated films are representing animals as a catalyst to address political issues and challenge authority in an indirect manner.
政治狂欢化（political carnivalesque）
“政治狂欢化”是文学理论中常用的一个术语，最早由米哈伊尔·巴赫金（Mikhail Bakhtin）提出，用于描述通过幽默、夸张和颠覆等方式，临时性地推翻或挑战既有的社会秩序和权威。
“政治狂欢化”指的是动画电影通过拟人化的动物角色，利用幽默、夸张、象征手法，间接地去揭示政治问题并挑战权威。
• animals as a catalyst（动物作为催化剂）：通过动物形象引导观众思考政治议题。
• indirect manner（间接的方式）：通过幽默或荒诞手法，而不是直接攻击。
Allude 暗指
-p13: the animal is ingrained in the meaning.
Humankind is in an eternal struggle to gain knowledge about the animal and through animation, humans give
animals meaning.
–animals = catalysts for conveying social and political messages through iconography.
-p14: “Animators exploit the animal form in such a way that it weakens the true identity of the animal culturally, rendering it a mere ‘brand’.”
–> 动画创作者通过某种方式利用动物的形象，从文化层面削弱了动物的真实身份，把它变成了“品牌”或符号。
（这里意思是：动物形象在动画中被符号化了，不再是真正的“动物”。）
P15: -The technique of “intertextuality” in animation is
quite a useful term to study if one is finding the relation between satire and animation.
-animation is a way to infuse life in drawings and make them move
–anthropomorphism might be helpful to study the social and psychological aspects that have been assigned to a particular animal or object and their reflection on humanity.
–Walt Disney was the first person to incorporate political messages in children’s animation within
the backdrop of the cold war between USA and Russia in the 1950’s.
P16: the use of fantasy in animation decrease the level of severity of social and political situation.
-stereotype is basically one of the ideologies in the American animated films. In real life, they are rather binary and consist of an amalgamation (mixture) of many stereotypes.
-the American society is very adamant in keeping these stereotypes alive by broadcasting them onto the minds of children and they want them to grow up watching and relating to them in their practical life as well. (Through repetition)
“false hope” in animated movies
Animated movies often depict a narrative where a disadvantaged, impoverished protagonist unexpectedly gains power and becomes a societal hero. While this storyline may be especially appealing to children, it can also foster feelings of inferiority among those who are poor, as it suggests that they can transcend poverty through personal effort alone. However, in reality, capitalist societies tend to maintain social hierarchies that keep the poor in their disadvantaged positions. Consequently, this message of hope can be misleading and ineffective when applied to real life (Booker, 2010).
inferiority 劣等
P17: humor and political messages in animation
Political messages embedded in animated movies can sometimes lose their impact because the fantasy and humor elements may overshadow the intended message. Satire and humor can operate on both explicit and implicit levels, but an excessive focus on humor might dilute the political content and reduce its seriousness (LaMarre, Landreville, Young & Gilkerson, 2014). Therefore, creators must be cautious in selecting the type of humor used, especially when dealing with sensitive topics such as religion and ethnicity, as humor in these areas can sometimes backfire and create unintended negative consequences. P27: Adueinces could get offended for the purpose of
satire is to mock and challenge society and authority (Murphy, 2011).
subsides：减弱
P17: humor is a “multilayered enigma” which can be explored in two ways: firstly it depends on the skill of the
person who is incorporating humor to deliver a serious message in form of rhetoric and secondly
it is subjected to the wits of the viewer and how clever they are to understand its deeper meaning.
Humor possesses the power to grab the attention of the viewer in the most receptive way as compared to other forms of rhetoric 花言巧语, particularly in conveying a serious message (Podlas, 2011).
humour in animation makes strict and harsh reality more digestible and acceptable. The fantasy elements make the matter hypocritical 伪善的 and pretentious虚夸的.
‘If someone is not familiar with the social issues of America, their interpretation of American animation would be different from someone who is familiar with these issues of gender and ethnic bias.(p18)’
The relationship between comedy and satire is strengthened when issues related to political correctness are presented in a humorous way through exaggeration and criticism, they disclose the incompatibility 不协调 within our social system. The intention of the animation, oftenly is to offend by means of political correctness (Dejean, 2016).
动画的意图往往是借助政治正确的外衣来冒犯或挑衅
– P20
Qualities research based on the study of literature based on the theoretical frameworks of Anthropomorphism in Animation, Social and Political Issues in Animation and The Role of Audience in Animated Movies.
-comparative case-study of two animated movies, from local and western context
• interviews included
P23 result of the study
-table 1 findings from literature review
-table 2: interviews
-table 3: comparative case study
TABLE 1 Literature
P24
Human explain the animalism of anthropomorphic characters through giving them meanings by using metaphors. Each of them is being presented based on the relationship with humans. They reflect our social structure (holiday, 2016).
P25
–humour is to easily describe the strict reality, satire is to mocking the hidden authority and social hierarchy
-political issue has been delivered through the help of symbolism
P26 targeting audiences
-audiences need to understand humour in the artwork, and be aware of the relating cultures.
-serious issues communicated through the use of humour may also backfire. Audiences could get offended for the purpose of satire is to mock and challenge society and authority (Murphy,2011)
• media regulation has altered the amount of humour and satire can be added into the film.
• Adult centered humor can expand its viewership. Male characters are always the one to deliver the adult humor (Akers, 2013)
TABLE 2 Interviews
-p28: animator: animal symbols can enhance the entertainment and fantasy
Film Professor: each animal tends to be associating with a particular attribute of humans. They can be a safe allegory of political references.
Example: snowball the pig in animal farm, it’s based on a Russian political figure but nothing has been said directly.
-p30 (animal characters are being deployed as a tool)： animator: avoid the harsh way of depicting truth like how the political issues have been reported in news, documentaries and so on. Also the use of anthropomorphic characters can help to pass the censorship.
Film professor: the targeted cultural group by the animation might be hurt through a negative connotation. For example, the cartoons created visual depictions of prophet Muhammad in 2025 has hurt the culture and religion of Muslim community.
P32 (Strategies to target audiences)
Animator: it’s been settled down in the stage of pre-production.
Film professor: implications should be merged into a successful film.
TABLE 3
P33
3a: comparing tables
(the donkey king & zootopia)
• underdog for donkeys and rabbits as they have dream to break their stereotypes.
• Mangu the donkey has been selected to rule the land which he found it’s difficult through his foolish self. As the same, judy has been selected to become the first rabbit police officer in the metropolis zootopia, but only been assigned to do the least important work comparing to the other predators.
• Animals are then being mysteriously kidnapped in the town.
• Both protagonist fix the issue by rescuing those animals are being kidnapped. Those negative stereotypes relate to dangers and troublemakers have been attributed to the violent predators in the film.
-These films have tried to reflect issue in the society, such as gender bias, Pakistani political situation. By giving characters a good ending by covering the satirical side of the narrative, to express through a light way for audiences to deeply think about.
P37
3b: contrasting tables
(the donkey king & zootopia)
• doneky king is focusing on the Pakistani culture and different groups of people in the society to reflect the hierarchy and unfairness. The fox character has been attributed the crafty and cunning stereotypes in the movie, and been portrayed as a villain. The story shows the external influences impact the Pakistani politics in the end through villain controls most of the energy through the ring.
• Zootopia using animal symbols to reflect the gender and ethnic bias globally. The fox in this film is challenging the stereotype by turning in to a hero with judy in the ending. As the apparently polite mayor has been exposed to be the true villain, it alludes to the corruption of power in the city.
P40
–‘it is important that the image have more than one meaning and is open to interpretation of the viewer.’
-cartoon evolved into animation, as so more symbols are used to allude the real issues, and animals are become the most popular one in the animation industry.
The animated animal has become a universal symbol (Wells, 2008).
-The satire has built up controversy and violent cases such as :
- Jyllands-Posten Prophet Muhammad Cartoons (2005)
• In 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published 12 editorial cartoons that included depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.
• This deeply offended many Muslims because Islam generally prohibits images of the Prophet Muhammad, considering it blasphemous.
• The publication led to widespread protests, diplomatic tensions, and in some cases, violent riots in several Muslim-majority countries.
• Note: Denmark as a country didn’t go to war with Muslims, but the controversy created a serious international diplomatic crisis.
- Iran-e-Jomee Cockroach Cartoon (2006)
• This is another example of a controversial cartoon in the Iranian newspaper, created by Mana Neyestani. It didn’t depict a human subject but rather used a cockroach to make a point—apparently representing someone speaking in Azerbaijani.
• This was also perceived as offensive and sparked protests.
• It demonstrates that even symbolic or non-human representations can be considered insulting depending on cultural and political contexts.